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STATE BOARD MEETING AND ST. LOUIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Missouri Commissioner of Education D. Kent King indicated
the State Board of Education will have a thorough discussion
of the recommendations made by a special advisory committee
about changing the governance of St. Louis Public Schools,
but he does not expect the state board to take immediate action
on any specific proposal.
The State
Board of Education will meet in Jefferson City on Thursday,
Jan. 11, and will discuss the status of St. Louis Public Schools,
among other agenda items.
An advisory
committee appointed by the commissioner last July recommended
that the State Board of Education impose a "transitional
school district" in St. Louis—a process that would
replace the current board of education with a three-person
governing panel. This process was enacted by the legislature
for the St. Louis Public Schools in 1998 and then set aside
by a federal desegregation consent agreement in 1999.
VOUCHER
ADVOCATE APPOINTMENT TO STATE BOARD
WILL BE WITHDRAWN, APPOINTEE RESIGNS
In November, Gov. Matt Blunt appointed Donayle Whitmore-Smith
to the Missouri State Board of Education. A state board appointment
must be confirmed by the Missouri State Senate in the upcoming
session or the appointment will not become permanent. Newly
elected Sen. Jeff Smith decided not to sponsor Whitmore-Smith’s
appointment, and Gov. Blunt announced he will withdraw her
appointment. Ms. Whitmore-Smith submitted a letter of resignation
from the state board, dated Jan. 9, 2007. Thus, Ms. Whitmore-Smith
will no longer be a sitting state board member on Thursday,
Jan. 11, when the State board discusses the status of St.
Louis Public Schools.
Missouri
NEA opposed the appointment of Ms. Whitmore-Smith because
she is an outspoken advocate for school vouchers and tax credits—proposals
that undermine the state’s capacity to establish and
maintain great public schools. Sen. Smith estimates he received
over 3000 e-mails concerning the appointment. The Association
appreciates the effort of all those who contacted their senator
or contacted Sen. Smith directly concerning the appointment.
The Association also appreciates Sen. Smith’s decision
to support public schools by declining to sponsor a school
voucher advocate appointee to the state board.
However,
indications are that Gov. Blunt’s next appointment for
this vacancy will likely also be a supporter of school vouchers
and tax credits. Association members will need to continue
to stand up and provide leadership in support of great public
schools for every child and state board appointees who share
that commitment.
HOUSE
COMMITTEES
Speaker Rodney Jetton announced his selections for House committee
chairs on Wednesday, Jan. 10. The number of House standing
committees will be 48. House leaders have indicated that committees
will be much smaller. Most committees will have eight members:
five majority members and three minority members. House committee
lists were not complete as of the time of this writing. The
proposed House committee makeup will leave the minority party
membership, which now makes up about 44 percent of the House,
significantly underrepresented on committees, with only about
38 percent of committee assignments. In contrast, Senate President
Pro Tem Michael Gibbons worked with Minority Leader Maida
Coleman to construct overall committee lists that very nearly
reflect the proportional partisan makeup of the Senate.
| Education-related
House committee chairs will include: |
| Appropriations–Education |
Kathlyn
Fares |
| Budget |
Allan Icet |
| Elementary
and Secondary Education |
Jane
Cunningham |
| Higher
Education |
Gayle
Kingery |
| Retirement |
Maynard
Wallace |
| Student
Achievement |
Scott
Muschany |
| Urban
Affairs |
Rodney
Hubbard |
SENATE
COMMITTEES
Senate President Pro Tem Michael Gibbons published the Senate
Appropriations committee membership on Tuesday, Jan. 9, and
the membership for the remaining committees on pages 83 and
84 of the Journal for Wednesday, Jan. 10: http://www.senate.mo.gov/07info/Journals/Day05011075-89.pdf
| Senate
Education Committee: |
Gary
Nodler, chair
Rob Mayer, vice-chair
Norma Champion
John Loudon
Scott Rupp
Charlie Shields
Maida Coleman
Rita Days
Chuck Graham
Yvonne Wilson |
| |
| Senate
Appropriations Committee: |
Chuck
Gross, chair
Gary Nodler, vice-chair
Norma Champion
Rob Mayer
Chuck Purgason
Luann Ridgeway
Frank Barnitz
Joan Bray
Tim Green
Yvonne Wilson |
| |
| Senate
Pensions, Veterans’ Affairs and General Laws Committee: |
Jason
Crowell, chair
Scott Rupp, vice-chair
Dan Clemens
Gary Nodler
Delbert Scott
Harry Kennedy
Ryan McKenna
Jeff Smith |
STATE
OF THE JUDICIARY ADDRESS
The House and Senate met in joint session on Wednesday, Jan.
10, to hear the State of the Judiciary address from the Honorable
Michael Wolff, Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Wolff’s address focused on Missouri’s
process for evaluating judges and the court system in general,
some of the work the Supreme Court has undertaken to improve
those evaluations and educate the public about the results
of the evaluations and efforts to ensure the court is using
resources wisely. Chief Justice Wolff pointed out that judges
should be held accountable for being fair, impartial and making
decisions that are in line with the law and the Missouri and
U.S. Constitutions, and judges should not be evaluated based
upon their political or policy views.
The entire
text of Chief Justice Wolff’s comments is contained
on pages 78-81 of the Senate Journal for January 10 at: http://www.senate.mo.gov/07info/Journals/Day05011075-89.pdf
STATE
OF THE STATE ADDRESS
At 7 p.m., on Wednesday, Jan. 24, Gov. Matt Blunt will present
the State of the State Address to joint session of the House
and Senate.
CAPITOL
ACTION DAYS
New for this session is MNEA’s Capitol Action Days.
Instead of having one statewide lobbying day to educate legislators
about public education issues, the Association will have a
series of Capitol Action Days. This will allow planned, face-to-face
contact with legislators throughout the session. Capitol Action
Days will be on Tuesdays and Wednesdays starting with the
first week in February and continuing through the first week
of May. Your MNEA calendar includes the dates that MNEA Board
of Directors members selected for your governance district.
If you are not able to attend on these designated days, feel
free to contact Otto Fajen (otto.fajen@mnea.org)
to arrange to attend a different Capitol Action Day. Each
Capitol Action Day will start with a briefing at 10:00 a.m.
to provide you with the most up-to-date information.
Typical
Capitol Action Day Agenda
10:00 a.m. - Meet for briefing, 3rd floor capitol rotunda,
Senate side alcove by grand staircase
10:15 a.m. - Visit with your legislator/floor debate
12:00 noon - Invite legislator to lunch
1:00-4:30 p.m. - Committee hearings, floor debate, visiting
legislators
PLAN
TO ATTEND YOUR MNEA LEGISLATIVE BRUNCH
Legislative involvement is close to home at your MNEA Legislative
Brunch. The brunch is a great opportunity to visit with local
area legislators and hear a legislative briefing. A new brunch
will be held this year in Moberly on Jan. 11, 2007.
Area
legislative brunch schedule:
Moberly – Jan. 11, 2007
Kansas City – Jan. 27, 2007
St. Louis – Feb. 10, 2007
Jefferson County (Festus) – Feb. 24, 2007
St. Charles – Mar. 3, 2007
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